If Apple does release a new iPad this year, it will be a high-end model with a greater pixel density display rather than an entirely new third-generation model, according to a new report.

FBR Capital Markets analyst Craig Berger called an overseas company involved in Apple’s supply chain and heard there could be an “iPad 2 Plus” later this year. The resolution would be in the 250 to 300 range.

To be branded Retina Display the iPad’s display only needs 263 ppi. The definition of Retina Display depends on only one thing: when do the pixels disappear? At 18 inches, which is the average usage distance of the iPad, 263-ppi pixels disappear. So the resolution range given to Berger sounds right to me. For an in-depth look into a 263-ppi 9.7-inch IPS LCD Retina Display read iPad & Retina Display and iPad 2.0 Gets Retina Display?.

This new high-end model will be called iPad Pro, not iPad 2 Plus. Why? Well, first Apple isn’t Samsung. The company doesn’t add prefixes and suffixes except for ‘i’ and ‘Pro’.* This next iPad looks to be a higher-performance model than the current iPad 2 and by that very definition it falls neatly into the Pro category. In iPad Pro I go into a few more reasons why I think the next iPad will be called iPad Pro.

* What I want to write, and what I end up writing are too often completely different. After John Gruber linked to this post, I received emails pointing out the fact that Apple uses many other suffixes. Of course, they were right, and I was wrong.